


The Angel and the Righteous Man

by caffeinatednightowl, Mirror_Verse



Series: Mirror-Verse [3]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Artists, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Domestic, M/M, Pining, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-14
Updated: 2013-05-14
Packaged: 2017-12-11 21:16:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/803346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caffeinatednightowl/pseuds/caffeinatednightowl, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mirror_Verse/pseuds/Mirror_Verse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel works on an upcoming writing project.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Angel and the Righteous Man

**Author's Note:**

> [Nekoshojo](http://nekoshojo.tumblr.com) made the art in the fic.

“Hey,” said Dean, as he walked through the doors of Celestial Cafe. 

Cas looked up from where he was wiping down the counter; it was getting late and the afternoon rush had petered off awhile ago. “Hey!” he couldn’t help but smile. “You get off work?”

“Mmhmm,” Dean nodded, sitting at one of the small corner tables and leaning back in the chair. “Bobby’s a fucking slavedriver, I swear.”

Cas laughed, walking back to the counter to make Dean his usual. “Well, tomorrow’s Tuesday; your day off, so I guess he wants you to get all the work done tonight.” 

“Yeah,” Dean sighed, stretching. “By the way, I know you always told me your brothers were crazy, but I didn’t believe it until the other day.”

Cas gave a half smile as he brought Dean’s favorite coffee over to him. “Gabriel, Balthazar, and Lucifer were the unique ones of the family. Though Lucifer is the more normal of the two, I imagine. He just likes his privacy.”

Dean smiled back, taking the cup. “Well, luckily your parents had you and Samandriel, huh?”

“Yeah…I don’t see Samandriel much these days, though. He’s been busy with school and his job. Last time we talked, he told me he’s been spending a lot of time with Adam.”

Dean paused, setting the cup down at the mention of his younger half-brother. “That’s good—Adam needs someone looking after him. You know, after his mom died six months ago, he turned down living with me and Sam—I mean, he never really met us when growing up, so he said he couldn’t—luckily he knew Samandriel and the kid took him in.”

Cas smiled, “Lucky for Samandriel he knew a friend who was willing to live with him and share the rent. It took a lot of paperwork to make him an emancipated minor—he didn’t want to have to get that revoked. He likes doing things on his own, even if that’s not always the best idea.”

“Guess they’re both good for each other,” Dean conceded, taking a drink of coffee. “Adam’s was moody for the longest time after his mom died; only now he’s starting to perk up.”

“Yes, I guess it’s nice…” Cas couldn’t help but look at Dean as he said it.  ”Having someone who makes your life so much better just by being in it.”

Dean stared back, unreadable expression on his face. Cas felt a blush creeping up his face, realizing what he had just said. He didn’t mean—He quickly looked down at the tile floor, hoping Dean hadn’t noticed. Yes, he did mean it, but saying it out loud for Dean to hear…

The moment was broken when Dean’s phone went off with its usual ringtone,  _“Carry on My Wayward Sooon—”_ He answered it quick, “Hey— _What?”_ Dean stood up so fast the coffee cup rocked on the table. “What the  _Hell_  did you do? Did you and Jess have sex on it?  _Are you sure?_  Oh for the love of—” Dean rolled his eyes. “I’ll be there in ten. If you let my vinyls or guitar get wet I swear to God—” Dean clicked off his phone and shoved it in his pocket. “Sammy broke the washer. Apartment is flooding. I gotta—”

“No, it's fine,” Cas said quickly, standing up as well. “Thanks for coming by.”

Dean gave a quick smile. “Yeah. See ya soon.” 

Cas watched him go, still holding that smile. While Dean never knew, he was always glad Dean stopped by as often as he did. He didn’t have to—there was no reason at all Dean Winchester should pay any attention to someone like  _him._

Still…he wasn’t about to tell Dean to stop. And even though it was probably wrong—Dean thought they were only friends, after all—he’d enjoy it for as long as it lasted. 

—————

Cas yawned as he stepped through the door of his dark apartment. He was tired; he had to work until closing at the cafe tonight, and he had class tomorrow. He couldn’t go to bed right away, though; he had to get some work done on his art project if he ever wanted to turn it in on time. 

Cas walked past their kitchenette, where Chuck was sitting at the kitchen table, draped in a red robe and eating a doughnut. The room was lit only by the bluish glow of the laptop. “Hey man,” he said, not even looking up from the screen.

“Hey,” Cas grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and walked past Chuck to his room. Once inside, he flicked on the light. 

Cas’s room was decorated with posters of famous paintings he loved—Starry Night, for one, on the back of his door. He had a soft spot for Van Gogh and the other impressionists. 

Tossing his backpack on the bed, Castiel sat down at a chair facing the easel he had set up in the corner. Even with the canvas sheet draped over this corner of the room, smudges of paint had somehow found themselves all over the chair, the headboard, a few on the walls, and many drips and stains covered his work clothes. 

He wasn’t working with paints tonight though. First he had to finish the sketch of his week long project,  _The Angel and the Righteous Man_. 

The assignment was for a painting depicting something out of mythology. His parents had been pretty fundamentalist (if six kids didn’t prove it), so he picked something out of Christian mythology. 

Cas picked up the pencil, and began to sketch. 

He had always been fascinated by the story of the Angel and the Righteous Man. The Righteous Man had been unjustly taken to Hell, and the Angel had raised him from perdition. The Angel’s orders were to raise the Righteous Man because he was meant to serve God. 

But, as Castiel had always learned, serving God was difficult. One had to sacrifice much to follow on the right path. When the Angel learned the suffering that was in store for the Righteous Man, what hardships he would face, the Angel couldn’t let him do it. And so the Angel fell, in order to protect him. 

The moral, according to Wikipedia, was a cautionary one. Serving God is hard but it is the right thing to do; the angel rebelled against God’s will, and paid for it. Literary critics found another moral; love is so overpowering that it can make you do terrible things. The Angel loved the Righteous Man so much, that he fell.

Though, Cas never knew why the moral had to be something bad. he always saw it that The Angel loved the Righteous Man so much, he was willing to defy God—defy his father—to save him. That kind of love couldn’t be interpreted as a bad thing, in his mind. 

For his painting, he decided to depict them in modern day attire. The Righteous Man wore jeans and a leather jacket, and the Angel, a sort of mysterious figure, wore a tan trenchcoat  The Righteous Man looked away from the Angel—Cas imagined that the Angel had just told him of what he was willing to do for him—pained. But the Angel had his hand on the Righteous Man’s shoulder, letting him know that he didn’t care what he would sacrifice—it was worth it. 

Cas paused, looking at the sketch so far. It was rough, yes, but it was coming together. He yawned again, set down the pencil on the easel, and wiped the graphite dust off his hands. 

He took one more look at the picture before shutting off the light for the night. While he had detailed the clothes and the Angel’s wings, he was never very good at drawing faces without a clear model in mind. And so, the Righteous Man had a face that looked like Dean Winchester’s and maybe…maybe the Angel looked a little bit like him. 


End file.
